Machine for applying valve operating buttons to aerosol containers



June 6, R FOCHT J. MACHINE FOR APPLYING VALVE OPERATING Filed Oct. 14 1959 BUTTONS TO AEROSOL CONTAINERS 4 sheets-sheet l O O {5 4 b H I? f7 3 a o 3 k 0 (9 a l 5 I l7 1 w} '1 I 17 "lg -I 9 c 1 /5 H A Onl 'll 6 i I l I Y .L UZw/v BcH0 2 2/4T ATTORNEY I J, R. FOCHT 2 986 809 June 1951 MACHINE FOR APPLYING VALVE OPER ING UTTONS B TO AEROSOL CONTAIN 4 She t h Filed Oct. 14, 1959 e S S eet 2 I-T E INVENTOR 1 75HA/ p/c/mea Fog/{T L Y -m ATTORNEY J 19 1' J R. FOCHT 2,986,809

MACHINE FOR APPLYING VALVE OPERATING BUTTONS TO AEROSOL CONTAINERS Filed Oct. 14, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Toy/v Plus 4120 F00- ATTORNEY June 6, R- F T MACHINE FOR APPLYING VALVE OPERATING Filed Oct 14' 1959 BUTTONS TO AEROSOL CONTAINERS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 r INVENTOR JOHN IP/CHHQD F0 CH7 ATTORNEY United tates Patent- 2,986,809 MACHINE FOR APPLYING VALVE OPERATING BUTTONS TO AEROSOL CONTAINERS John Richard Focht, Yonkers, N.Y., assignor to Precision Valve Corporation, Yonkers, N.Y., a corporation of 'New York Filed Oct. 14, 1959, Ser. No. 846,286 Claims. (Cl. 29-211) This invention is a machine for applying valve operating buttons to the valve stems of aerosol and other pressure package containers.

In the preparation of aerosols for the market, the aerosolmaterial, generally consisting of an active ingredient charged with a propellant, is introduced into the desired container, usually a can, provided with a discharge valve having a valve stem which, when depressed, will permit the delivery of the active ingredient from the container. It is common in practice for so-called fillers" to package aerosols as stated through the employment of appropriate apparatus, and to thereafter manually apply the valve operating cap to the free end of the valve stem. The apparatus employed for the filling and charging of the containers operates at speeds which commonly range between 1002-O0 cans per minute and, as these cans are discharged from said apparatus, women are usually employed to manually apply the push button. In order to keep up with the speed of such apparatus, many hands are required for this purpose, otherwise a serious bottleneck results in the production line.

The object of the present invention is to provide a machine for automatically placing the buttons on the valve stems at speeds corresponding to the speed of operation of the filling and charging apapratus. Through the employment of this machine, the filled containers, with the buttons applied, pass from the filling and charging ap paratus through the button applying machine of this invention and they may then be passed directly to appropriate shipping containers which may be immediately sealed and labeled for shipment.

An important feature of this invention is that it saves a great amount of manual labor and the expense and uncertainty of the labor and uniformly applies the buttons without any noticeable loss of the contents of the container.

Features of the invention, other than those adverted to, will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description and appended claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The accompanying drawings illustrate difl'erent embodiments of the invention, but the constructions therein shown are to be understood as illustrative, only, and not as defining the limits of the invention.

' FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, this view being turned at 90 degrees from the showing of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevation looking in the direction indicated by the arrows 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a vertical section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 are fragmental views of the parts shown in FIG. 4, but illustrating different operative positions of these parts appropriate to different steps in the application of a button to the valve stem of a container.

FIG. 8 is a section on the line 8- 8 of FIG. 4 showing the container in elevation except for a small broken away portion at the top thereof.

FIG. 9 is a fragmental section on the line 9-9 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 10 is a section on the line -1010 of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section corresponding in Patented June 6, 1961 location to the showing of FIG. 4, but illustrating a modified form of the invention.

The machine shown in the drawings has an appropriate base or table 1 on which is rigidly mounted a post 2. Supported on this post for vertical adjustment is a bracket 3 having therein a slot 4 with an adjusting bolt 5 by means of which the bracket may be locked in any desired position vertically of the post, in accordance with the particular height of the container to be passed through the machine.

To the under side of the bracket 3 is attached a block 6 by means of screws 7 shown in FIG. 4. The greater portion of this block is shown as slotted at 8 in FIG. 4 and extending downwardly through this slot from a considerable elevation above the same is a feed chute 9. Buttons B to be applied to the valve stems of the containers are fed into the open upper end of this chute and descend by gravity to the lower end of the latter where they successively come to rest upon flanges 10 (FIG. 8) extending toward one another, across the slot 8, at the lower edge of the block 6.

Also mounted on the bracket 3 (FIG. 4) is an air cylinder having compressed air connections 12 throughwhich pressure may be applied alternately to the op posite ends of the piston therein, so as to cause the piston stem 13 of said cylinder to be lowered and raised in accordance with the operations of a switch operating arm 14 mounted in the slot of the block 6 and serving to control a micro switch 20 (Fig. 4). The switch operating arm acts upon aswitch actuating finger 14' (FIG. 9).

Filled and charged cans C having valve stems c are moved into substantial proximity with the lower end of the chute 9 by a conveyor 15 and are adapted to be discharged, after the buttons have been applied, by means of a conveyor 16 shown best in FIGS. 2 and 3. While they are in proximity with the lower end of the chute, the.

cans are adapted to be positively moved successively beneath the piston stem 13 of the air cylinder by a pair of star Wheels 17 spaced one above the other and mounted on a shaft 18, driven by any appropriate mechanism at such speed that cans, delivered from the filling machine by the conveyor 15, may be handled by this apparatus without producing a production bottleneck. The shaft 18 is provided with a suitable support 19 from the table 1.

It will be noted from Fig. 2 that the peripheries of the star wheels 17 are shaped to partially embrace cans fed from the conveyor 15 and to pass these cans continuously beneath the lower end of the chute 9 and the lower end of the piston stem 13 of the air cylinder in succession. Star wheels appropriate to different can diameters are applied as required. In practice, the cans fed by the conveyor 15 are engaged in succession by the pockets of the star wheels and moved through the slot 8-of the block 6 between the flanges 10.

The buttons B are fed to the flanges 10 so that they will rest on their sides upon the flanges 10 with the socket b of each button facing toward the valve stem 0 of the oncoming can, as shown in FIG. 4, so that the movement of the can between the flanges 10 causes the valve stem 0 thereof to carry said button with it away from the lower end of the chute and in a direction to the right as viewed in FIG. 4. As the button and can thus move in unison, the button engages the lower end of a micro switch operating arm 14 and all of these parts move together from the position shown in FIG. 4 successively through the positions shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7.

During the movement from the position shown in FIG. 4 through the position of FIG. 5, the arm 14 engaging the end of the button, retards the movement of the forward end of the button, so that the button is tilted upwardly as shown in FIG. 5 into a position wherein the valve stem 0 of the can starts to enter the socket b of the button.

'a'osas'oa As the parts continue to travel, this retarding action continues until the button is moved to the upright position shown in FIG. 6 wherein the socket thereof is coaxial with the valve stem c.

When this stage of the operation has been reached, the arm 14 has been raised sufficiently to engage the micro switch 20 and, as a result thereof, compressed air is ad mitted through the upper connection 12 of the air cylinder. The piston of said cylinder immediately descends carrying with it its piston stem 13, so that said stern engages the button and forces it downwardly over the valve stem into the position shown in FIG. 7 to complete the operation of applying the button to the valve stem.

In the interim, however, the button has been depressed sufliciently to release the switch operating arm 14 which returns immediately to its normal inactive position shown in- FIG. 4 with the result that compressed air is cut 01f from the upper connection 12 and admitted through the lower connection 12 to the air cylinder, whereupon the piston stem 13 is immediately elevated to permit the container to continue its travel under the impulse of the star wheels to the conveyor 16 which moves it out of the machine.

In order to insure proper alinement between the piston stem 13 and the button, as the former moves into cooperative relation with the latter, said stem is provided with a sleeve 21 as shown in FIGS. 4-7. This sleeve is pinned to the stem 13 and its lower end is internally tapered as shown at 22 to form an alining guide. It is also to be noted that the lower ends of the stem 13, as well as the sleeve 21, are slotted to make way for and permit of the operations of the switch operating arm 14 as described. In lieu of the pneumatic cylinder and piston stem shown and described, a solenoid, controlled by the micro switch, may be employed in which case the part 13 would be an extension of the core of the solenoid.

The machine hereinbefore described is operable at on tremely high speeds. In practice the button may be engaged by the valve stem and applied thereto in about of a minute which is approximately /3 of a second. Inasmuch as the actual seating of the button on the valve stem requires but a small fraction of this time, it will be apparent that even though the button is pressed down hard enough to unseat the valve of the can, this interval is too short to allow of the discharge from the can of any appreciable amount of the material contained therein. This is in pronounced contradistinction to the prior manual application of buttons to valve stems where the discharge of appreciable amounts of such material results, creating a situation where discharged material must be cleaned up by the operator from time to time and also soiling the exterior of the can so that the can too must be wiped off before packing.

The foregoing description sets forth the preferred embodiment of this invention, but it is susceptible to various modifications. through the button applying zone may be dispensed with by alining the discharge conveyor 16 with the conveyor and feeding the cans through the applying zone in any appropriate manner.

For example the star wheel feed of cans Furthermore, it is possible to apply the buttons without using an air cylinder or solenoid. Such a structure is shown in FIG. 11, wherein a constantly rotating wheel 23 with a roughened surface engages the button as the latter travels with the container, retards the upper end of the button and progressively forces it downwardly over the valve stem as illustrated in this figure. The wheel is peripherally grooved at 24 to permit of operation of the switch operating arm 14.

The foregoing detailed description sets forth different embodiments of the present invention, but the invention is to be understood as not limited to these specific embodiments, but is rather to be construed as fully commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A machine for applying a socketed valve operating button to the valve stem of an aerosol container comprising: means for moving an aerosol container along a predetermined path, means for positioning a button in the path of the valve stem of the container with the button resting on its side and the socket of the button substantially in the path of the free end of the valve stem of said container said button to be engaged by the valve stem and thereby caused to move therewith, means engageable with the forward end of the button to retard the movement of that end of the button while the other end of said button continues to move with the container to thereby tilt the button into upright position, and additional means to thereafter force the button in the direction of the container to force the socket of the button onto the valve stem.

2. Machine according to claim 1, wherein the means for retarding the forward end of the button comprises a. switch operating arm for controlling the operations of the means for forcing the socket of the button onto the valve stem.

3. Machine according to claim 1, wherein the means for retarding the forward end of the button and applying said button to the valve stem of the containers comprises a rotating wheel.

4. Machine according to claim 1, wherein the means for moving the container along a predetermined path comprises conveyors leading to and from the zone wherein the button is engaged by the valve stem and applied thereto, with interposed means for positively moving the container through said zone at a predetermined speed.

5. Machine according to claim 4, wherein the interposed means for positively moving the container through saidzone comprisesat least one mechanically driven star wheel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,964,434 Holmes June 26, 1934 1,971,576 Nelson Aug. 28, 1934 1,990,148 Tevander Feb. 5,-1935 2,672,837 Maker Mar. 23, 1954 

